Pneumatic governor for a fuel injection pump of an internal combustion engine

ABSTRACT

A pneumatic governor for a fuel injection pump of an internal combustion engine comprises a housing containing five chambers in a row with a plurality of diaphragms separating the chambers from each other. An output member of the governor is drivingly connected to the first diaphragm, the first chamber being disposed on the same side of said housing as the output member. The first and third chambers communicate with the ambient atmosphere and the second chamber communicates with the fifth chamber. A rigid central portion mechanically connects all the diaphragms except the first, and a nozzle member is connected with the rigid central portion to establish communication between the fourth and fifth chambers. A spring-biased valve is in the fifth chamber for controlling communication between the fifth chamber and ambient atmosphere, the nozzle being controlled by the operation of the valve. The fourth chamber communicates with the intake manifold of the engine. A plurality of springs of different stiffness selected in accordance with a desired mode of operation of the engine connect the rigid central portion with the first diaphragm in an arrangement such that the springs are operated in succession.

United States Patent [72] Inventors Alexandr Kuzmich Avramenko ulitsa Kultury, ll, kv. 89, Kharkov; Anatoly losilovich Vladimirsky, pereulok Kulbltsky, I8, kv. I, Kharkov; Neukh Nokhimovich Gitlin, ulitsa Tambovskaya, 75, kv. 9I, Leningrad; 0m Iosil'ovich Zaets, ulitsa Vorobeva, ll, kv. 8, Kharkov; Jury Mefodievich Korchin, ploschad Rozy Ljuksemburg, 2, kv. 9, Kharkov; Vladimir Yanovich Kulbasliny, ulitsa Gubkomovskaya, 48, kv. 4, Kharkov; Konstantin Mikhailovich Maskenskov, ploschad Maksima Gorkogo, 5/76, kv. 33, Gorky; Nikolai Gavrilovich Mozokhin, ulitsa Avtomobilnaya, I6, kv. l6, Gorky; Nikolai Ivanovich Orlov, ulitsa Sernigradskaya, 65, kv. 6, Kharkov; Leonid Nikolaevich Popov, bulvar Novatorv, I10, kv. 80, Leningrad, all of, U.S.S.R.

[2|] Appl. No. 846,464

[22] Filed July 31, 1969 [45] Patented July 20, 1971 [54] PNEUMATIC GOVERNOR FOR A FUEL INJECTION PUMP OF AN INTERNAL 119,140,140 FG,140 MP, 140 MC [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Primary Examiner-Goodridge, Laurence M. A!t0rneyWaters, Roditi, Schwartz & N issen ABSTRACT: A pneumatic governor for a fuel injection pump of an internal combustion engine comprises a housing containing five chambers in a row with a plurality of diaphragms separating the chambers from each other. An output member of the governor is drivingly connected to the first diaphragm, the first chamber being disposed on the same side of said housing as the output member. The first and third chambers communicate with the ambient atmosphere and the second chamber communicates with the fifth chamber. A rigid central portion mechanically connects all the diaphragms except the first, and a nozzle member is connected with the rigid central portion to establish communication between the fourth and fifth chambers. A spring-biased valve is in the fifth chamber for controlling communication between the fifth chamber and ambient atmosphere, the nozzle being controlled by the operation of the valve. The fourth chamber communicates with the intake manifold of the engine. A plurality of springs of difierent stiffness selected in accordance with a desired mode of operation of the engine connect the rigid central portion with the first diaphragm in an arrangement such that the springs are operated in succession.

PNEUMATIC GOVERNOR FOR A FUEL INJECTION PUMP OF AN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE The present invention relates to internal combustion engines, and, more particularly, it relates to pneumatic governors controlling the operation of fuel injection pumps of internal combustion engines.

There are known pneumatic governors for the fuel injection pumps of internal combustion engines, which operate on a direct action principle (see, for example, the magazine Avtomobilnaya Promyshelennost/Motorcar Industry," No. 10, 1960, pp. 45). These governors comprise a diaphragm separating two chambers-an atmospheric pressure chamber and a vacuum chamber. The diaphragm is connected with the fuel supply control rack of the pump and is subjected to the action of springs, the stiffness of which determines at every moment the position of the control rack, as related to the degree of vacuum in the vacuum chamber of the governor. The vacuum chamber communicates with the intake manifold of the engine.

However, the performance of engines equipped with governors of this known type shows a tendency of excessive fuel consumption, due to the fact that the outputsignal (the output action) of such governors depends to a considerable extend on the amount of friction in the rack mechanism. I

Another serious'disadvantage of governors of this known type is their considerable nonlinearity caused by the variation ofthe working area of the diaphragm as the diaphragm is displaced between its limit positions, whereas minimum fuel consumption is maintained when the relation between the input and output of the governor is partly linear (in some cases, entirely linear).

These disadvantages are completely eliminated in a governor of an indirect action comprising aneroid boxes mounted inside a chamber communicating with the intake manifold of the engine. The aneroid boxes affect a slide valve in a liquid pressure line including a servo cylinder which, in turn, is directly responsible for the control motion of a member setting the fuel pump in required position. Thus, at every moment the setting of the control member of the fuel pump is determined by deformation of the aneroid boxes under the action of vacuum (see, for example, Service Manual for M 337 Engine, .lan. sverma Works, Prague, pp. 1 l9- 1 35).

However, both the manufacturing and operating of governors of this last-mentioned type involve certain complications on account of the presence of two high-precision couples (the slide valve and its sleeve and the cylinder and its piston). Moreover, there is a necessity for an external power source and a hydraulic system for supplying and carrying away the pressurized fluid.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to eliminate disadvantages of both of the above described types of governors.

The main object of the present invention is to provide a pneumatic governor of an indirect action for a fuel injection pump of an internal combustion engine, which does not require any external source of power for its operation.

This object is accomplished in a pneumatic governor for a fuel injection pump of an internal combustion engine, in which the output member is connected with the fuel supply control rack of said fuel pump and is adapted to be moved in operation under the action of a diaphragm deformable in accordance with the degree of vacuum in the intake manifold of said engine. In accordance with the present invention, this governor comprises five chambers arranged in a row and separated from each other by diaphragms, the first and the third chambers, counted from the side of the output member, communicating with ambient atmosphere, the second chamber communicating with the fifth one which latter additionally is adapted to communicate with atmosphere through a valve, the fourth chamber communicating with the intake manifold of the engine and also communicating with said fifth chamber through a nozzle member adapted to control the operation of said valve, said nozzle being controlled by the motion of said diaphragms; the diaphragms separating said second, third, fourth and fifth chamlbers being mechanically connected to each other by a rigid central portion; said nozzle being operatively connected with the outermost one of said diaphragms on the side of said output member through a plurality of successively operable springs of different stiffness selected in accordance with a desired mode of operation of said engine.

As the performance of a governor constructed in accordance with the present invention shows a tendency to have a slight timelag in its control action in cases when the engine is rapidly (or even momentarily) switched over from a partpower duty to full-power one (the timelag being about 0.7 seconds), which leads to a lean mixture during the first revolutions of the engine under the new conditions, it is desirable at such moments to speed up the control motion of the fuel supply rack. To achieve this, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, said fourth chamber of the governor communicates with said intake manifold of said engine through the flow chamber of a pneumatic mechanism including a spring diaphragm separating said flow chamber from the closed chamber of the same mechanism, said diaphragm having a throttling orifice provided therethrough, the communication between said fourth chamber and said intake manifold also including a nozzle cooperating with a valve adapted to be moved by a pivoted lcver connecting said diaphragm mechanism with the fuel supply control rack of said fuel injection pump, said last-mentioned valve being movably mounted within an additional chamber directly communicating with said last-mentioned nozzle; said last-mentioned valve being adapted to control communication between said additional chamber and ambient atmosphere.

It is a great advantage of a governor constructed in accordance with the present invention that its incorporation into an internal combustion engine reduces mean fuel consumption of this engine by at least 5 percent.

Given below is a detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the present invention in the form of a pneumatic governor for the fuel injection pump in an internal combustion engine, e.g. in a truck, with spark ignition; due reference is had to the accompanying drawing the sole FIG. of which is an axial sectional view of the governor embodying the invention.

In the drawing, the governor 1 has five chambers 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, defined, respectively by the portions 7, 8, 9, l0 and 11 of the governor housing and by diaphragms l2, 13, 14, 15. The diaphragm 12 is connected to the output member of the governor, namely, a stem 16 rigidly connected with the displacement control rack 17 of the fuel pump 18. The chamber 2 communicates with atmosphere through a bore 19 in the portion 7 of the governor housing; the chamber 3 communicates with the chamber 6 through a tubular conduit 20; the chamber 4 communicates with ambient atmosphere through a bore 21 in the portion 9 of the governor housing; the chamber 5 is connected by the conduit 22 with the intake manifold 23 of the engine. Rigid washers 24, 25, 26, 27 together with a pin 28 and a screw 29 constitute a rigid central portion of the diaphragm assembly 13, 14, 15. The washer 26 and the pin 28 are formed, respectively, with bores 30 and 31 through which a nozzle 32 communicates with the chamber 5. The chamber 6 communicates with ambient atmosphere through a ball valve 33, a bore 34 and a wire gauze filter 35. The diaphragm 12 is connected with the nozzle core 28 (Le. with the nozzle 32) of the rigid central portion of the diaphragm assembly 13, l4, 15 by means of compression springs 36, 37, 38, a sleeve 39 and a carrier 40. The spring 38 is precompressed with a predetermined force, when the governor l is assembled. The spring 38 is maintained in a compressed state between the external circular shoulder of the carrier 40, on the one hand, and a rigid disc fast with the diaphragm 12, on the other hand; the carrier 40 also has an internal radial shoulder which engages the nut 41 under the force of the spring 38, the nut 41 connecting the diaphragm 12 with the stem 16. When the force transmitted from the carrier 40 through the spring 38 to the diaphragm 12 is greater than the precompression force of the spring 38, the latter compresses still further by an amount "A." When the governor 9 isnot operating, the springs 36 and 37 are not compressed and are loosely received in the central bore of the carrier 40. The portions 7, 8, 9, 10, ll of the governor housing are secured together with longitudinal bolts extending therethrough (the bolts are not shown in the drawing). The portion 7 of the housing is secured, in turn, to the housing of the pump 18 by threaded pins (not shown).

lt has been already stated that at the time of rapid drop of suction in the intake manifold (which corresponds to the beginning of a maximal power output operation of the engine), the herein-described governor tends to act with a time lag. To prevent this, a diaphragm mechanism 42 is provided, which comprises a flow chamber 43 and a closed chamber 44 separated by a diaphragm 45 which has a throttling orifice 46 made therethrough. The compression spring 47 permanently biases the diaphragm 45 toward the extreme left-hand position. Through the conduit 48 a suction pulse from the intake manifold 23 of the engine travels into the flow chamber 43 from which it passes through a nozzle 49 into an auxiliary chamber 50, from it passes through the conduit 22 into the chamber of the governor l. The auxiliary chamber 50 communicates with ambient atmosphere through a ball valve 51 and a bore 52. The housing of the valve 51 can be reciprocated axially of the chamber 50 under the action of a double-arm lever 53, the housing being biased toward its extreme left-hand position by a compression spring 54 (a stop limiting the travel to the left of the housing of the valve 51 under the action of the spring 54, although present, is not shown in the drawing). The lever 53 is pivotally connected to the housing of the valve 51. One arm of the double-arm lever 53 interacts with the rod 55 rigidly connected to the diaphragm 45 and also with the link 56 of the manual fuel-air mixture enriching control. The other arm of the double-arm lever 53 is adapted to move the displacement control rack 17 of the fuel pump 18 to the left, by the engagement of the free extremity of this arm with an abutment pin 57 provided on the .end portion of the rack 17, projecting on this side of the pump housing 18. The housing of the mechanism 42 is secured to the pump housing 18 by bolts (not shown in the drawings).

When a signal determined by the degree of suction in the engine intake manifold 23 reaches the chamber 5, it affects the balanced position of the rigid central portion of the diaphragm assembly (the central portion being made up by the parts 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29), on account of the difference between the work areas of the diaphragms l4 and 15. As a result, an axial force is generated, which shifts the rigid central portion axially to the left. The nozzle 32 clears the ball of the valve 33, whereby some vacuum is supplied to the chambers 3 and 6, and a pressure differential is created, which acts upon the opposite sides of the diaphragm 12. This pressure differential deforms the diaphragm 12 to the right, and it compresses the springs 36 and 37 and transmits its motion through the parts 38, 40, 37, 39 and-36 to the rigid central portion of the diaphragm assembly, until the nozzle 32 again engages the ball of the ball valve 33. Consequently, buildup of vacuum in the chambers 6 and 3 is discontinued. If the force transmitted from the diaphragm 12 to the rigid central portion is greater than the force acting on the rigid central portion in the opposite direction, due to the vacuum in the chamber 5, the face end of the nozzle 32 will depress the ball of the ball valve 33 from its seat, thus establishing communication between the chambers 6 and 3 and ambient atmosphere through the valve 33, bore 34 and filter 35. Vacuum in the chambers 6 and 3 is thus reduced, and the diaphragm 12 is moved back to the left under the action of the compressed springs 36 and 37. The action of these springs upon the rigid central portion is thus diminished, and the nozzle member 32 starts returning to the left, as does the ball of the ball valve 33, whereby first the chambers 6 and 3 are cut off from ambient atmosphere (by the ball of the valve 33 reengaging its seat), and then, as the action of these springs diminishes still further, the nozzle 32 clears the ball of the valve 33. Again there is buildup of vacuum in the chambers 6 and 3, on account of the nozzle 32 being now open. The above described cycle takes place and repeats itself, until there is established a desired relation between the input and output parameters of the governor. in this way the position of the stem 16, and, consequently, of the fuel supply control rack 17 is made to correspond to the suction, or vacuum in the intake manifold of the engine, whereby an optimal composition of the fuelair mixture fed to the engine is maintained.

For an optimal performance ofa motorcar engine under any operational conditions, it is essential that a graphical representation of the relation between fuel supply and vacuum in the intake collector should have two portions. The first portion, corresponding to smaller vacuum, is characteristic of the socalled forced, or high-load duty, when slight variations in the degree of vacuum should lead to considerable variations in fuel supply, and the maximal supply should be at zero" vacuum. The second portion, corresponding to medium vacuum, is characteristic of the economical operation of the engine; over this portion variations of fuel supply per unit of variations in the degree of vacuum should be less than over the first portion, and this relation should be a linear one. This relation is ensured by the linear characteristics of the supply control rack-fuel pump system (i.e. fuel supply is, or should be proportional to the linear displacement of the rack 17). When the engine is operated at forced idling (e.g. coasting downhill), vacuum in the intake manifold is greater than at any other engine duty; it is advisable in this case to cut off fuel supply altogether.

Proper performance of the herein-described governor under the above-mentioned conditions is provided by the action of the springs 36, 37, 38, sleeve 39 and carrier 40 in the following manner.

Over the slight vacuum portion, the springs 36 and 37 are operating. The characteristic curve of the governor performance has a steep area on account of the easily compressed spring 37. At medium degrees of vacuum in the intake manifold, the spring 37 is compressed by the entire amount 8" and thus goes out of action, and the response of the governor is detennined by the strength of the spring 36 which now comes into action. At great vacuum in the intake manifold, when it is advisable to cut off fuel supply, the force transmitted via elements 38, 40, 39, 36 becomes greater than the precompression force of the spring 38, whereby the latter is compressed by the entire amount A, and the diaphragm l2 and the stem 12 are displaced into a position of zero" supply. For the spring 38 to be compressed by the amount A" under a comparatively slight rise in the force being transmitted, the stiffness ofthe spring 38 should be minimal.

For variations of the degree of vacuum in the chambers 3 and 6 not to affect the balanced state of the rigid central portion of the diaphragm assembly (parts 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29), the work areas of the diaphragms 13 and 15 should be equal.

It is quite obvious from the foregoing that the hereindescribed governor l is a governor of an indirect action, in which the rigid central portion of the diaphragms l3, l4 and 15 serves as a responsive member; the nozzle 32 and the ball valve 33 act as an amplifier-transformer; the diaphragm 12 functions as an actuator; and the springs 36, 37, 38 together with the sleeve 39 and carrier 40 constitute a feedback. A desired mode of fuel supply control is determined by the structure of the feedback and its characteristics, with the feedback 5 in the herein-described governor being carried out by a successive introduction of several springs having different stiffness.

In the herein-described governor, the energy of the input signal (i.e. the degree of vacuum in the intake manifold 23) is sufficient for proper functioning of the actuating (output) member.

The pneumatic diaphragm mechanism depicted in the drawing by numeral 42 operates, as follows.

When vacuum in the intake manifold 23 of the engine changes rapidly, the diaphragm 45 is subjected to the action of pressure differential on account of the chamber 23 being connected directly with the intake manifold, and the chamber 44 communicating with the intake manifold 23 through the throttling orifice 46. When vacuum in the intake manifold is built up, the pressure differential tends to deform the diaphragm 45 to the left. This force has no effects, since the diaphragm is, as it has been described above, maintained in the extreme left position under the compression of the spring 47. However, when vacuum in the intake manifold 23 is reduced, there appears a pressure differential which tends to deform the diaphragm 45 to the right, but the mechanism 42 still would not operate if this force does not exceed the precompression of the spring 47. And only in those cases, when the force is in excess of the compression of the spring 47, which takes place when the engine is abruptly switched from a low power duty to a full power duty, the diaphragm 45 overcomes the compression of the spring 47 and momentarily moves the rod 55 to the right. The rod 55 pulls the lever 53, whereby the later pivots about its pivot axis secured to the housing of the check valve 51 and engages the abutment pin 57, thus driving the supply control rack 17 of the fuel pump 18 into a position corresponding to increased fuel supply. In this way the time lag in the reaction of the governor l to the last-mentioned condition change is compensated. In case the manual mixture-enriching control linkage 56 is operated, and the pivoting of the lever 53 meets a considerable resistance of the rack 17 which the lever has to push, on account of the rack being held in a position corresponding to the degree of vacuum in the intake manifold 23 of the engine, then the housing of the valve 51 under the force exerted thereon by the strained lever 53 compresses the spring 54 and moves to the right, closing the nozzle 49 and opening the bore 52. The chamber 5 of the governor 1 thus becomes connected with ambient atmosphere through the conduit 22 and the bore 52, whereby the diaphragm 12 no longer resists the displacement of the rack 17, and the latter can be shifted by the manual control through the lever 53 for a desired composition of the fuel-air mixture.

What we claim is:

l, A pneumatic governor for a fuel injection pump of an internal combustion engine, comprising: a housing, five chambers disposed within said housing in a row; a plurality of diaphragms separating said chambers :from each other; an output member of said governor drivingly connected to the first one of said diaphragms; the first said chamber being disposed on the same side of said housing as said output member, said first chamber and said third chamber communicating with ambient atmosphere, said second chamber communicating with said fifth chamber; a rigid central portion mechanically connecting all said diaphragms save said first one; a nozzle member connected with said rigid central portion, said nozzle being adapted to establish communication between said fourth and said fifth chambers; a spring-biased valve in said fifth chamber, said valve controlling communication between said fifth chamber and ambient atmosphere, said nozzle being adapted to control the operation of said valve; said fourth chamber communicating also with the intake manifold of said engine; a plurality of springs of different stiffness selected in accordance with a desired mode of operation of said engine; said springs connecting said rigid central portion with said first diaphragm, the arrangement being such that said springs are operated in succession.

2. A governor, according to claim I, wherein said fourth chamber communicates with said intake manifold of said engine through the flow chamber of a diaphragm mechanism, said mechanism having a spring-biased diaphragm separating said flow chamber from a closed chamber of said mechanism, said spring-biased diaphragm having a throttling orifice provided therethrough; said communication between said fourth chamber of said governor and said intake manifold also including a nozzle cooperating with a valve, said last-mentioned valve being adapted to be controlled by a pivoted lever connecting said mechanism with a fuel supply control rack of said fuel injection pump; said last-mentioned valve being movable mounted in an additional chamber directly communicating with said last-mentioned nozzle, said last-mentioned valve controlling communication between said additional chamber and ambient atmosphere. 

1. A pneumatic governor for a fuel injection pump of an internal combustion engine, comprising: a housing, five chambers disposed within said housing in a row; a plurality of diaphragms separating said chambers from each other; an output member of said governor drivingly connected to the first one of said diaphragms; the first said chamber being disposed on the same side of said housing as said output member, said first chamber and said third chamber communicating with ambient atmosphere, said second chamber communicating with said fifth chamber; a rigid central portion mechanically connecting all said diaphragms save said first one; a nozzle member connected with said rigid central portion, said nozzle being adapted to establish communication between said fourth and said fifth chambers; a spring-biased valve in said fifth chamber, said valve controlling communication between said fifth chamber and ambient atmosphere, said nozzle being adapted to control the operation of said valve; said fourth chamber communicating also with the intake manifold of said engine; a plurality of springs of different stiffness selected in accordance with a desired mode of operation of said engine; said springs connecting said rigid central portion with said first diaphragm, the arrangement being such that said springs are operated in succession.
 2. A governor, according to claim 1, wherein said fourth chamber communicates with said intake manifold of said engine through the flow chamber of a diaphragm mechanism, said mechanism having a spring-biased diaphragm separating said flow chamber from a closed chamber of said mechanism, said spring-biased diaphragm having a throttling orifice provided therethrough; said communication between said fourth chamber of said governor and said intake manifold also including a nozzle cooperating with a valve, said last-mentioned valve being adapted to be controlled by a pivoted lever connecting said mechanism with a fuel supply control rack of said fuel injection pump; said last-mentioned valve being movable mounted in an additional chamber directly communicating with said last-mentioned nozzle, said last-mentioned valve controlling communication between said additional chambEr and ambient atmosphere. 